A Vampire's Kiss

by Alexis Taylor

  They got to the room, and Ryan flicked the light on. There was a single bed, a few shelves and drawers, and a desk.

  “Just take a seat while I find the drinks,” Ryan said, motioning to the edge of the bed. Slowly, Veronica made her way over, and sat down with her legs together. Ryan bent down to reach under the desk to get the liquor, and just at that moment Veronica moved to cross her legs. In that split second, out of the corner of his eye, Ryan caught a glimpse of her bright red panties. Suddenly, the image of her, slowly stripping out of exotic lingerie, flashed in his mind. He cleared his throat, and buried his head under the desk while moving his hand searchingly for the bottles.

  “So… you’re from Seattle, too?” Veronica said suddenly, maybe a bit quieter than expected.

  Ryan bumped his head against the top of the desk as he tried to sit up. “Uh, yea,” he grunted

  “What part?”

  “Oh… the north part of the city.”

  “Me too!” Veronica exclaimed. Ryan cursed his luck. He was already grasping for straws – he had no conception of anything to do with Seattle, except that it was somewhere on the west coast of America. The last thing he needed was to get into a conversation about the specifics of the area, when the wrong detail could easily signal a red flag in Veronica’s mind. At the same time, he knew that if he just managed to get Veronica to take the lead when talking, he’d be able to pick up on enough bits and pieces to create some semblance of conversation.

  “It’s a great place, isn’t it?” he said back to her. “Sometimes I miss all the people I knew there.”

  “Oh my god, me too!” Veronica said, and Ryan saw that she again shifted her legs. “I mean, I like this school, but I’ve grown up there my whole life, and this place is so different.”

  “I know,” Ryan said while stepping over to take a seat next to Veronica on the bed. From this close, he could smell her luscious wildflower perfume, and it made his heartbeat quicken. “What were your favorite parts about… back home?”

  “Uhm…” Veronica’s eyes glazed over momentarily in thought, then she looked right back at Ryan through deep lashes. “The ocean, and the mountains. And the fresh air. I love being outside.”

  “Tell me about it,” Ryan said. “The mountains are absolutely unbelievable there, huh? You know, I had a cabin on one of them that my family used to go to every summer.”

  “Really?” Veronica’s eyes were intent, focused on Ryan’s face.

  “Yes,” Ryan replied, lowering his tone and slowing his speech. “Every summer, I would go up there with my two brothers, and we would spend a week entirely in the wild. Just… living. We would catch our own food in a nearby stream, and make cook fires every evening. My father taught us all how to do it. He said that it was… essential… to know how to survive in the wild.”

  “My dad’s the same way,” Veronica breathed, and leaned closer in. “He didn’t like relying on other people, and taught us to fend for ourselves.”

  “Yes, it’s best to know how to… fend for yourself.” Ryan said the words slowly, tantalizingly, and when Veronica leaned in closer to hear, he knew he’d won half the battle. His heart was still beating out of his chest, but the window to make a move was now or never. He brought a hand up slowly to her face, and traced the outline of her cheek with one finger. “A person needs to know how to fend for themselves when coming to an unfamiliar place.”

  “Yes,” Veronica said, and audibly swallowed. Ryan realized she was just as nervous as he was. “It makes you a… stronger person, when you can do that.” She moved her legs closer to Ryan, and he placed his other hand lightly on the inside of her thigh. This time, she shivered.

  “And strong people make for the best type of acquaintances,” Ryan said in a near-whisper. The space between their faces narrowed, and Ryan could feel her warm breath on his lips. Using the same finger he had been tracing her cheek with, he hooked it under her chin and gently pulled forward. She closed her eyes, and parted her lips in anticipation of the imminent kiss.

  Suddenly, they were interrupted by a loud yell from the other room. Both their heads whipped back toward the doorway and the source of the noise.

  “What was that?” Veronica asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ryan admitted. As soon as the words left his mouth, though, another yell was heard from the other room, and this time it was clearly distinguishable. It was a girl’s voice, and she sounded angry.

  “Get off me, you big jerk!”

  “That sounds like Ashley,” Veronica said worryingly, and immediately got up from the bed to go see what was going on. Dammit! He had been so close! Now, he had no choice but to follow.

  What he found in the other room was the absolute last thing he wanted to see. All three of the girls who had been there with Jamie and Brett were standing together with their arms crossed, staring daggers and the two guys on the couch.

  “What happened?” Ryan asked.

  “We’re leaving, that’s what happened,” Ashley said angrily. For some reason, she wouldn’t look Jamie in the face. “Come on Veronica, we’re getting out of here. These guys are pigs.”

  Veronica looked to Ryan somewhat helplessly, then back to Ashley. Indecision was clear on her face, but it quickly evaporated into steely resolve. “Let me get my purse,” she said, and walked back towards Ryan’s room.

  “Be fast!” Ashley warned. Jami was still sitting on the couch with an uncomforting grin on his face, while Brett looked like he had been beaten down with a baseball bat.

  “If anything happened, I just want to apologize in advance…” Ryan began, but he was cut off by a furious glare from Ashley. Instead of replying, she strode to the door and swung it open. “We’ll be outside!” she yelled down the hall to Veronica. “Hurry up!” And with that, she stormed out the door, her two friends straight on her heels.

  A few seconds later, Veronica emerged from the room, with no purse in sight. Come to think of it, Ryan wasn’t sure she even had a purse when she first came with her friends. But as she walked by, she stopped in front of him and reached up to place a kiss on his cheek. “Call me,” she whispered in his ear. Then, without looking back at Ryan’s friends, she left the dorm. When the door closed behind her, Ryan rounded on Jamie and Brett. Both had smirks as wide as lanterns painted on their faces.

  “I just want to apologize in advance,” Jamie said in a mocking tone.

  “Oooh, I’m so sorry for my two pig friends,” Brett followed right up in the same tone.

  “What the hell happened here?” Ryan demanded. He was angry at his two friends for screwing up what had been a sure thing, and was in no mood to be poked fun at.

  “Woah, calm down there buddy,” Jamie said defensively. “When did you ever start taking the girls’ side in these things?”

  “I’m not… taking the girls’ side,” Ryan said irritably. “I just want to know what happened.”

  Brett shrugged and looked over at Jamie somewhat accusingly. “Our friend over there was a bit too aggressive, and it kind of backfired in his face. I was the unwitting victim.”

  “Oh, don’t play dumb, Brett,” Jamie fired back. “You were just as guilty of trying to move things too quickly as me.”

  “Maybe,” Brett said thoughtfully, “but at least I knew my girl was totally willing to go all the way. It was only once you spooked your girl that mine decided to display some morals.”

  “Ah well, I don’t think we could have made it work, anyway,” Jamie said. “There were two of us and three of them. And unless two of the girls were down for a threesome – which I seriously doubt, this early in the relationship – one would have been left out, and she would have gotten all pissy and wanted to leave early.”

  “Dammit guys, you couldn’t wait just a few more minutes before scaring them off?” Ryan demanded.

  “Woah, you’re not angry at us, are you?” Jamie asked. “What, did we interrupt something?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes, you did.”

  “Oooo
h, Ryan almost got lucky tonight!” Brett said mockingly. “It’s too bad his idiot friends had to go and screw everything up, isn’t it, Jamie?”

  “It’s a damn shame,” Jamie replied. “I wouldn’t have thought he would be so sensitive considering the spring break trip we set up.”

  “You’re right,” Ryan said, unclenching his fists. “I… apologize for getting angry. It’s just that Veronica was fucking hot, and she was totally into me.”

  “We noticed that on her way out,” Brett said slyly.

  “Yea, we forgive you,” Jamie said, “and moreover, I think I noticed something that’ll cheer you up.”

  “And what’s that?” Ryan asked.

  “I don’t think she had a purse when she came in… or when she left. Perhaps she left something in the room for you?”

  “What do you mean?” Ryan asked.

  “Oh, you know, a phone number, maybe something like that,” Jamie winked. “Why don’t you go check it out?”

  Ryan nodded, and walked over to his room. Sure enough, a piece of paper lay on the desk with a 10-digit phone number written on it, plus the words ‘call me!’ underneath, with a heart serving as the point of the exclamation mark. Ryan picked it up and folded it into his pocket before returning to the other room, where he chuckled at Jamie. “Looks like you were right, bro.”

  “See what I told you? No need to worry.”

  “The only thing that might put a wrench in your plans with her,” Brett added, “is how soon we’re gonna be leaving for Ibiza.”

  “Oh, that’s right!” Ryan exclaimed. “You think I can set something up with her before then?”

  “It’s Wednesday now, and school lets out for spring break this Friday,” Jamie said, “and we’re leaving the next morning. So you’ve really got to pull a rabbit out of your hat to make it work with her before then.”

  “Probably a low chance for it then, huh?” Ryan asked. Both Jamie and Brett nodded. “Fuck it, I can meet up with her after. We’re going to Ibiza, boys! I can’t worry about some girl here when there are going to be dozens there every night.”

  “Hundreds,” Brett corrected him. “At least, that’s what my cousin tells me.”

  “I can’t wait,” Ryan said. “So, what are our plans for getting there?”

  “An early morning flight,” Jamie said, “so no partying before we get there, unless we want to miss the plane. Personally, I wouldn’t like that very much.”

  “Me neither,” Ryan agreed. “So how is the hotel room set up, anyway? I guess we’re going to be going out most nights, right?”

  “Every night,” Brett corrected. “And I’ve made it a personal goal to bring a chick back to the room each one of those nights.”

  “A girl for every day of the week,” Jamie laughed, “that’ll make for some story.”

  “We should set it up like a competition,” Brett suggested. “The man who’s slept with the most women by the end of the week wins.”

  “What’s the prize?” Jamie asked.

  “How about the losers cover the return airfare of the winner?” Ryan suggested, and was met with confused looks from his friends. “Look,” he clarified, “I appreciate that you guys paid for my ticket and all, but I should contribute at least something to the trip. At least, if it’s set up like a competition.”

  “You sure?” Jamie asked.

  “Absolutely. Anyway, I plan on beating both of you badly. We all know who’s got the most game out of the three of us.”

  “Fat chance,” Brett snorted. “Without my girlfriend watching my every move, I’ll be unstoppable.”

  “Hey, let’s not forget who brought us the girls tonight,” Jamie added.

  “Yea, the same guy who screwed it up for everyone,” Brett laughed, which caused the other two guys to laugh as well. Once the mirth settled down, Ryan spoke:

  “So it’s settled, then,” he said. “The man with the most women by trip’s end gets his return flight paid for by the losers.”

  “Deal,” Brett said.

  “Gotta make it official,” Jamie said, and thrust his arm out into the air in front of him. “A three-way handshake to seal the deal.”

  Brett reached out and placed his hand on top of Jamie’s first, and Ryan followed suite. “To the victor,” Ryan said.

  “To the victor,” Jamie and Brett echoed, and the three of them threw down their hands in unison, sealing the pact.

  As soon as that was done, Ryan noticed that Jamie got a sudden mischievous look on his face.

  “Hey, I just thought of something,” Jamie said.

  “Yea?” Ryan asked.

  “Did Veronica seem to be… Spanish, to you?”

  “Maybe a little bit.”

  “But definitely more European than American, right?”

  “Oh yea, absolutely.”

  “You should see if she’s got any family out in Europe. Maybe she’s planning to go visit over spring break.”

  “Maybe. But so what?”

  “Duh, man, you should see if she’d be interested in coming out to Ibiza with us with some of her friends.”

  “Actually, that’s a great idea,” Brett jumped in. “That’ll land you some major bonus points if you get her to come out there. And if you do that and sleep with her, well, I’d just crown you the winner right on the spot.”

  “It doesn’t hurt to try in any case,” Jamie said.

  “We’ll see,” Ryan said. He didn’t think the chances of making it work were very high, but there was no way of finding out short of trying. Plus, she did leave her phone number on his desk, and did seem extremely affectionate right away. Who knew – maybe she’d be amiable to the idea. “But I’ll give it a shot.”

  “Atta boy!” Jamie exclaimed.

  ~

  CHAPTER THREE

  The next few days flashed by for Ryan. In the excitement for the upcoming trip, he had forgotten all about worrying for next year. Instead, time was spent planning with his friends their clubbing itinerary on the Spanish island. They had ten nights there, and wanted to spend every minute of every day out enjoying the clubs. Plus, with spring break in full effect in most of America, there were bound to be tons of hot, slutty drunk girls dying to hook up. It was the most perfect storm, and the best way to top off a great four years of school.

  Ryan also managed to find time to start exchanging brief texts with Veronica, who was colder on the phone than she had been in person. Nonetheless, she wanted to meet on Friday night, but Ryan had to turn her down – he had to get packed and get ready to take the early morning flight on Saturday morning. He mentioned the idea of her coming along – briefly, mind you – and she somehow managed to completely avoid the question. Well, it was like he said to his friends: there was no way to find out without trying.

  Friday night was restless for Ryan, and the sounds from all the people celebrating the start of spring break outside kept him up most of the night. He itched to go out, but knew that there was no way he’d be able to get on the plane if he was drinking tonight. Plus, if Jamie was able to stay in on such a loud night, Ryan could as well.

  Around 4:00AM the next day, Jamie erupted into Ryan’s room with a loud bang. The light was on in the hallway, and Ryan could see that Jamie was fully decked out in his most showy Hawaii shirt, unbuttoned almost all the way to the bottom of his chest, along with some white cargo shorts and those ridiculous but awesome plastic-lined sunglasses.

  “You look like a parrot,” Ryan said as he pushed himself up.

  “Gotta be dressed for the weather,” Jamie answered.

  “It’s a long flight there,” Ryan warned.

  “I know, but I want to be ready to go out as soon as we get there. Come on, you need to get up so we make our flight. Brett’s already waiting out in the living room.”

  “Brett’s here?” Ryan asked in disbelief. The flight actually wasn’t for another three hours, and it only took thirty minutes to get to the airport.

  “We’re all excited, man. He’s never
been to Spain before.”

  “Me neither.”

  “So, we’re anxious to get there! Come on, get up and meet us outside.”

  With that, Jamie turned around and left Ryan to fully wake up. Ryan threw his blanket off, and swung his legs to the side of the bed. He’d gotten less sleep than he wanted, but the reality – the imminence – of the trip hit him for the first time. He was going to Ibiza for an entire week to do nothing but party and get laid! With his two best friends by his side, and hordes of drunk girls all around. This was going to be the best spring break ever. No – it was going to be the best week of his life, ever.

  Quickly, Ryan collected the last of his belongings and threw them into the opened suitcase with the rest of his things that he’d packed the night before. It wasn’t much – a few shirts, some swim trunks, and a few bottles of booze. Obviously they’d be able to buy more alcohol there, but Ryan didn’t think it would hurt to bring his own supply for the first night. By the way Jamie was making it sound, they’d be out in the clubs before they even had a chance to look at the room they’d reserved at the hotel.

  Ryan picked up the suitcase, brushed a hand gruffly through his dark brown hair to tame it slightly, and came into the living room. Sure enough, Brett and Jamie were waiting for him on the couches, with Jamie looking the more impatient of the two.

  “Finally!” Jamie exclaimed when he saw Ryan emerge from the hallway. “You ready to go?”

  “Absolutely,” Ryan replied. “I’m surprised you got here so early,” he added, motioning to Brett.

  “Actually, I got into a fight with the wife,” Brett admitted.

  “Let me guess, she didn’t want you going?”

  “Something like that.”

  “She didn’t even know about the trip until last night, did she?”

  “Hey, it’s not my fault!” Brett defended. “It just never managed to come up in conversation.”

  “Except it’s come up every time you’ve been hanging out with us,” Jamie laughed.